The medal was presented by Garden Grove City Councilman and Orange County Scout Executive

Phat Bui, who pinned on this courageous and distinguished veteran the medal. Garden Grove Councilman Christopher V. Phan was also present.

Ayala was promised an award but never received one because he was forgotten with all that was happening with the war. Ayala was happy to receive the honor.

"It was a tremendous day with a thousand people in the area," Ayala said about the Normandy Invasion.

"The skies were so dark from all the clouds, bombers and aircraft in the air."

The Normandy Invasion, codename Operation Neptune during which Allied Forces seized a German stronghold on the coast of France, occurred on June 6, 1944 shortly after midnight. It was truly a turning point in the war. Normandy was chosen because it was the best access to France’s interior, and it paved the way for the liberation of Europe with 160,000 Allied troops.

In August 1944, French and American troops liberated Paris, beat back the Germans, and the Germans surrendered on May 7 1945. Just days after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Aug. 6 and Aug. 9), Japan surrendered the war in the Pacific in August 1945.

During the war, Ayala served in the U.S. Army /Air Force and was a B-17 bomber pilot. He was ordered to fly the B-17 in four major areas of France. He flew at such low altitude over Omaha Beach the enemy could hit him with a rifle. It took four days to bomb the area.

He survived his bomber being shot down in the coastal area of France.

Flight crews lost an average of three out of four servicemen and in one day they lost more than 40. Ayala also served in the Korean War and Vietnam wars. Ayala accumulated 2,000 combat hours and 50 major missions.

To honor the memory of the 70th Anniversary of D-Day this year, the Normandy Regional government and the Boy Scouts of America Trans Atlantic Council are leading an effort to contact and award these commemorative medals to all who served during this critical time in the world's history.